Daisy Chains
by Sevanadium
Summary: Alfred tells Ivan the story behind the Flower Festival a few days before the celebrate it together for the first time. The day later ends with a gift from Ivan for Alfred.


Alfred was incredibly young when he had first started to make daisy chains. His skin was still tanned into a caramel from the sun and his bright blonde hair was perpetually dirty and muted.

At this point in his overly long life he still lived with his brother, Matthew, who was living under a different name at that point as well as Alfred himself. Together, they lived with the person they now referred to as 'mom' and who was known to others as Native America.

It was during these years that Alfred had learned many things. He had learned to navigate completely by the stars, the difference between nightshade and nightlock, and the best ways to boil certain plants into aromatic teas. None of the things he had learned during these years had ever completely left him.

Making daisy chains was one of the things that he carried with him throughout time. The past time was one of his favourites, though he had yet to learn of the English name for it just yet. Alfred would make dozens of chains that he would sometimes decorate trees with if he was in the mood. The simple chains were almost exclusively made of daisies, but sometimes they were spotted with bright reds, pinks and other colours that belonged to other flowers.

He was still young, even by human standards, and had yet to comprehend the meaning of nationhood and all its intricacies for a good few years, but even at such a young age he had started to notice his mother growing weak.

Looking back at it, the signs had been there before she was showing them. She would often stare at the twin boys with sorrow that pooled in her heart and glistened in her eyes. It had yet to cross either Matthew or Alfred's mind that she had only a short time to live.

Alfred stopped making daisy chains for many years after his mother stopped walking the earth.

It was after years of living in the wild, where no one was truly with him, that he began to make daisy chains again. The insatiable urge had compelled him to take advantage of the large field that was liberally coated with daisies.

Since that day he would always make daisy chains during the first few days of spring —when daisies and other flowers would spring up in large gouts. The daisies held a special meaning to him: His longing for lost love and simpler times. It was only a few centuries before he knew of the daisies' apt meaning of loyal love they had according to flower language.

A few years passed, signified by the daisy chain creations that grew more detailed by the year and the growing of large patches of the plants in preparation of one day that had become an obsession of sorts. He lost himself in preparing for the one day where he let himself wallow in his grief, to allow the sadness that came from his mother to truly consume him.

It was during the mid-seventeenth century that settlers began to pick up speed in their arrivals. Alfred now spent more time within the thicker foliage and had lost his childish will to play. In return his skin had lost the caramel colour and his hair now shone like the sun on the wheat fields before harvest. No longer could he pass for a Native American, but now he was almost one with the settlers.

During this time period he had met Davie, a young boy with red hair and polka-dotted with freckles. In all honesty the boy looked quite strange to Alfred, whom had never seen a red-headed person before.

When he found Davie again he also found that the boy no longer remembered him. That was the second life he had gotten his heart severely broken. Not because he was particularly close to the child that was now nearly and adult, but rather the idea of being forgotten by a person he had once considered a friend was heart wrenching.

That year he included forget-me-nots in his chains, to symbolise the memories, and they would be included in his personal arrangement forevermore.

Circumstances only brought Alfred onto the same path as Davie once more in his life. What had been a young boy had grown old and finally succumbed to death and Alfred was left to look into the eyes of Davie's grandson and attempt to control the feeling that twisted his gut into painful knots that had not loosened until weeks later. That was when Alfred had vowed to never be forgotten like that again.

Not too long after that life had started to gather up larger bunches of his time. Alfred was put to work in order to gain his stay at the local orphanage and would be forced to work long hours instead of tending to the gardens that would have bloomed wonderful come spring. Yet he still managed to do something even if it was just a short daisy chain weaved into a blue and white wreath that he wore for an entire day.

The villagers soon began to notice the annual habit of their unaging occupant and found they were compelled to do something similar. Not once did they even think to question why they were doing what was soon to be named the Flower Festival or the eternally youthful state of Alfred.

Some did ask him—not from doubt, but mere curiosity—they received a simple explanation that he did it annually in order to remember lost love.

The celebrations stayed like that for a short while and then they began to spread from town to town and infiltrated what would soon be cities before spreading across the entire landmass that was America. It was only years later that Alfred remembered his brother.

Alfred added Marigolds to show his repentance for his cruelness and to show his grief for his long lost brother. The crown he wore held three colours now and they were red, blue and white.

The people unified and set apart the first day of spring for the flower festival. Chains of daisies were woven and placed upon the population and scattered colours were tucked into clothes and hair. The Flower Festival was widely celebrated and people would commune on fields and share the stories behind their choices in flowers with one another.

Flower language was almost second nature to Alfred. He could tell a person exactly which flowers they would need in order to say something. This was surprising to Arthur when he adopted a six or so year old Alfred as his younger brother and sailed him off to England with its similar, yet diverse flora.

Arthur joined in on the celebration after he heard Alfred's explanation behind why he did it and how the red flowers were for his brother, white flowers symbolised his mother and the blue flowers represented Davie and how he was forgotten.

A few weeks later Arthur and Alfred had travelled to France via carriage. That year Alfred stopped putting in the marigolds for his forgotten brother.

The wreath stayed white and blue for nearly a century and during that time Alfred sincerely hoped that he would never have to add in another colour.

It was not until he gained independence that his list of sorrows grew and another colour was added into the mix. Red got added into the wreath again, however this time it was with carnations that showed his admiration for the older brother he had lost. The red rivalled the white and only a spattering of forget-me-nots clung to their place between the two other colours.

Like with the meaning of many holidays, the true meaning of the Flower Festival changed. It was not forgotten, but now, it was to remember loved ones—those that have left and also those that continued to stay. The day was a way for people to show their devotion to one another and above all, it was a day of love.

Ivan watched Alfred take a sip of hot chocolate before looking up in order to face him, "That's the story behind the Flower Festival."

They were both seated on separate couches in Ivan's lounge and a fire provided light, heat, and crackled softly in the silences that reigned before each of them spoke.

"I think you're a wonderful story teller," Ivan pulled his blanket up higher, "Thank you for sharing such a story with me. I am grateful."

"I'm just glad that you managed to sit through me babbling on about my issues. It's nothing compared to what you've been through—"

Ivan cut him off, "Everyone has their own problems and you've had an interesting life. Hearing about it is enjoyable." Ivan smiled like a cat, lazy and content. He brought his gaze to Alfred. The man had been through heartbreak and was able to look back on those times and embrace them without the feelings overwhelming him completely.

Compared to Ivan the contrast was great. At the slightest hint at either heartbreak or loss Ivan would put his heart under lock and key. His emotions strained under the force that kept them at bay and often Ivan would no longer be able to control himself and break down, usually violently.

"It takes a strong man to work through his troubles and come out better at the end." Ivan added to his previous statement. He looked at his boyfriend with respect gleaming in his eyes. It was still odd to call Alfred his boyfriend despite the fact that they had been together for a while, but odd in a good way that made one feel giddy and pulled at his heart.

Alfred gave a slight nod and lifted the corner of his lips in a semi-smile, "I still can't believe I'm spending the Flower Festival with you." Ivan could visibly see the ambivalent emotions that took turns flickering across Alfred's face.

"It's a special day, love, even more so because I'll be with you."

"Has anyone told you how much of a sap you are?" Alfred asked. Any traces of his previous trepidation had dissipated from his face entirely.

"You often tell me that I'm like a teddy bear and that you always have trouble resisting the urge to hug me?" Ivan offered.

"I guess that counts. You never did tell me what flowers you use for the Flower Festival. I really want to know. You don't have to tell me though." Alfred added the last part in quickly.

It was odd the way Ivan enjoyed Alfred's ramblings because it meant that the lonely white noise was held at bay for just a few seconds. Alfred was the lazy summer afternoon to his crisp winter morning. The man could melt even the harshest storms and pull Ivan into the happy state he thought he had lost years ago.

"Ivan, are you okay?" Alfred asked and figuratively grabbed Ivan into the present, "You really don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I didn't bring up anything you don't wanna talk about, did I?"

Alfred really cared for Ivan and it made Ivan's heart ache strongly with gratitude and love. He sought for a reply to give to Alfred.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about how grateful I am to have you in my life, love." He always called Alfred love, but it was the one word that he could think of that even scratched the surface of how much Alfred meant to him and kept him together. One day he would tell Alfred exactly what he meant to him.

"Jeez, Ivan. Why do you have to be so romantic? You make a man feel inadequate, especially after I sent you a plaque of memes for your birthday."

They turned to face the plaque in question, "I loved it because you made it so that I could laugh." Ivan explained succinctly before turning back to face Alfred.

Alfred buried his head in the blanket. His hot chocolate was long finished and had been placed onto the side table.

The fireplace roared merrily and the flames danced a fleeting dance with the shadows on their faces. It warmed them up considerably and shielded them from the bite of spring that still lurked in late nights and early mornings.

"I don't know." Ivan replied suddenly to something Alfred had previously said.

"What don't you know?"

"I regret so much. Yet you're still with me and I don't understand why. Is it selfish of me to not want to lose you?" Ivan stared with glassy eyes into the fire, "I've never had specific flowers. Because I don't remember my past." The last part was said with firm resignation.

"It's not selfish to want to be with someone you love and not wanting to live in the past won't affect now. That's when it's the other way around. Socrates said something like: If you know what the good thing to do is, then why not do it?"

"Alfred —" Ivan began before he was cut off.

"Don't even say you're bad for me because that's self-derogatory."

Ivan fidgeted with the red tassels on his blanket, "I wasn't going to say that," the fireplace filled in for the short silence, "I think I love you."

Alfred's smile lit up his face so much that is fought with the fire in terms of sheer brilliance and his eyes shone like a kid's during Christmas morning, "I love you too." Alfred blurted out more than he said. He got up off of his couch in favour of joining Ivan on his couch.

Neither of them had meant to fall asleep that way, but they did.

The fourth morning since that night had arrived and Alfred woke up giddy and excited, at two o' clock in the morning. He blamed time zones.

They were spending the Flower Festival in Russia and the time zone excuse was redundant as he had been in Russia for nearly a month now and had not had any issues like this since his first week. It was definitely excitement this time.

It took a few moments for Alfred to settle back into Ivan's chest and only slightly longer for him to fall asleep with Ivan's arms wrapped around him.

The second time Alfred woke up in the morning it was five o' clock in the morning and it was to the motion of Ivan shaking his shoulder gently.

"It's time to wake up or I won't be able to get the flowers for the festival." Ivan said in a low whisper.

"Just a few more minutes..." Alfred mumbled before turning over slightly and burying his face into the pillow.

"Five more minutes, and if you don't wake up I won't give you a good morning kiss." Ivan said in a teasing tone. He actually disliked giving ultimatums like this and if it were up to him he would shirk off life's responsibilities and spend his days with Alfred. Those days with Alfred would consist of nothing but cuddling and kissing—with some heavy petting if he could, but that wasn't the point. He just loved doing anything with Alfred, even if it was nothing.

Ivan had already been up for an hour in order to prepare for today. The park—which held a small, informal gathering annually—was a little over an hour's drive away and Ivan would only be returning in the early hours of the next morning. Alfred would already be well on his way back to America via aeroplane by that point.

He had managed to make some snacks that were placed into a cooler for Alfred and himself to snack on throughout the day and a small-ish picnic had been made in preparation for lunch.

To tell the truth, Ivan himself had woken up early out of excitement and had, after nearly fifteen minutes of tossing and turning while trying not to wake Alfred up, decided the morning would be more effectively spent getting ready for their day, even if it was five in the morning.

Being with Alfred had given Ivan a reason to get excited over holidays and because of that, he always approached such days with much gusto, so much so that even Alfred was given a run for his money in the 'holiday excitement' category. They had and upcoming anniversary in two weeks and it added on to Ivan's excitement for today as his plans directly linked with what he was hopefully going to be able to do on the fourteenth.

"Alfred, it's been five minutes." Ivan called out. Alfred was bundled up in the blankets with Ivan's cat, Koshka or Koshechka as Ivan often called his cat the Russian diminutive for his name. Koshka lay curled up next to Alfred's side and they looked adorable together in Ivan's opinion.

"Just five more minutes," Alfred grumbled, his voice distorted from his position of face-first into the pillow.

"It's already been five minutes and I told you earlier that if you didn't get up now I wouldn't kiss you good morning."

Alfred scrambled to get out of bed but ended up getting tangled in the duvet and falling to the floor. A soft meow came from Koshka who had been delivered the unfortunate luck of being pulled down with Alfred.

"And I'm awake."

Laugher erupted from Ivan in short bursts at his boyfriend's antics.

"Are you laughing at me?" Alfred asked as he looked sternly at a nearby armchair, "That's pretty low."

"I'm over here love."

Alfred turned to face Ivan, "Sorry. You know I'm blind without my glasses on."

Ivan had an inkling that Alfred was playing up his need of glasses for comedic purposes. Since it was to make Ivan laugh he paid no mind to it and was actually quite flattered that Alfred went so out of his way in order to make Ivan smile.

"Do you know what day it is?" Ivan asked the bundle of blankets on the floor.

"My birthday?"

Ivan shook his head slightly though he did not think Alfred saw it, "It's the Flower Festival."

"Oh," Alfred groped the end table for his glasses and put them on, "It's still dark?"

The digital clock shone in the near-dawn light and told the time.

"Isn't it supposed to be light at six?" Alfred asked Ivan. He continued to rub his eyes under the glasses to rid them of the gummy feeling they had when he had just woken up.

"It's not summer yet," Ivan supplied, "And if we want to get the flowers we should go early."

"Have you made snacks yet?"

"The cooler box is nearly full." Ivan answered.

"Let's get this show on the road." Alfred buckled his seatbelt and waited for Ivan to pull the car out of the driveway.

Ivan got onto the main road and managed to drive through nearly an hour's worth of Alfred asking 'are we there yet?' He pulled into the parking in front of a small florist.

"Wait for me here love. I'll be back in just a few minutes." Ivan stopped the car and got out.

"Mmmkay," Alfred said half-heartedly as he settled back down and tried to fall asleep again.

The first portion of the journey had consisted of him ogling the Russian landscape as the sun rose, but once the sun had nearly freed itself from the grips of the horizon Alfred had grown bored. He lost interest in what was happening outside in favour of opening up the cooler box and grabbing a few sandwiches that had been cut into little triangles. They reminded him of Arthur slightly, but these were heavenly compared to whatever to Brit had fed him. After that he had begun to doze off when Ivan had pulled into the florist's small parking.

Ivan walked quickly and tried as hard as he could not to do something, like skipping, out of excitement. He could not dispute the fact that he did have a slight skip in his step when he reached the door to the florist's.

The small bell above the door jingled. "Good morning," the woman behind the counter called out. She had an innumerable amount of flowers decorating herself and her clothing and had a small backpack with a camera on the counter next to her

"Are you also going to the Flower Festival in Park Rhynie?" Ivan gestured towards the bag and camera.

"You bet! The ideas I can get for my arrangements are quite unique. Are you a walk-in or do you have an order?"

"I have an order, under Braginsky."

"Braginsky... I remember. Your choice is quite unique. Are you planning to propose to your girlfriend?" She was taken by the idea of such a romantic gesture and shared a giddy smile.

"I am, but Alfred's... Um my—"

She immediately grew flustered, "I'm so sorry! It was rude of me to just assume something like that."

"It isn't a problem." Ivan tried to smile soothingly. It seemed to work as the florist calmed down.

"The flowers with be — rubles." She said and handed him a box with green netting on it.

At Ivan's slightly confused look she explained, "On the phone you said it was a surprise so I took the liberty of doing this since you also said that she—he would be travelling with you. Now you don't have to worry about it being a surprise or not, but please don't leave them in here too long and let them die. It was quite difficult to get a hold of the blue spider flowers."

Ivan handed over the money and gently took the box from her.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're welcome. Your change is—"

"Don't worry about the change."

"Are you sure sir? It's quite a lot of money." She held a few notes in her hand only inches away from the cash register.

"I'm sure. Have a great day.

"You too! I hope everything goes well with Alfred." She called out just before the door closed with the shrill tinkling of the bell above the door.

Ivan carried the box of flowers under his arm and gripped it tightly as he opened the back door of the car.

"I'm back Alfred." He said quietly in order to not wake him if the door had not done so already.

"Took you long enough." Alfred said through closed eyes as he enjoyed the first rays of morning sun.

"I was only gone for a few minutes."

"A few minutes too long." Alfred said this sternly but a teasing tone was present in his voice, "And 'sides, how much longer do we have until we get there?"

"Park Rhynie is only a fifteen minute drive from here." Ivan closed the back door and made his way to the front of the car. He sat down in the driver's seat.

"Why are we going to Park Rhynie if it's so far away?"

Ivan started the car. "Park Rhynie is beautiful during the springtime and lots of people go there to see the large fields that bloom during spring."

"It sounds awesome! I never knew you liked the place." Alfred grew slightly embarrassed as he picked up on Ivan's obvious love for the place.

"I'm not insulted."

"Now I feel sorta bad because I've been so...so blasé about a place that you like."

"What do you mean Alfred? You haven't —"

"I've been impatient, I was a hassle this morning, the sandwiches are all gone and now I'm insulting you."

"Today is even more important to you than me." Ivan saw that Alfred was about to speak. He put up his hand in order to stop him from speaking.

"The other day you told me about the importance of the Flower Festival to you and it's amazing. You told me of all the loss you have seen through your life and compared to me or any other nation you've had such a short time to work through it.

"You're so wonderful Alfred and I'm elated that we were able to put an end to the Cold War and now we're together like this. I love you so much."

Ivan tried his best to quell the rising emotions that were affecting Alfred. It did not make sense too Ivan, but he was sure that everyone's emotions were affecting Alfred as they celebrated this day with him.

"I-I love you too."

Ivan could see that Alfred was flustered and in all honesty, he did not feel bad at all.

"Would you like to drive?" Ivan offered knowing full well that Alfred would decline.

"Nah, you can continue. I don't really know where the place is and..." Alfred trailed off.

"Don't feel bad, I quite enjoy driving."

Ivan was actually neutral to the task. He enjoyed using the time to think and often said he enjoyed it because he knew that Alfred hated the task.

"Don't sleep," Ivan began, "Park Rhynie is a short drive away."

Ivan turned the ignition and the car roared to life. He began to reverse put of their temporary parking. A sharp click indicated Ivan putting his seatbelt on. Being a Nation meant that he did not need to take any precautions against death and injuries healed quite speedily, but Alfred insisted on them both wearing their safety belts as he would rather both of them prevent injury in the first place. The thought behind it warmed Ivan's heart.

They parked in a shaded area and Ivan turned off the car. The car's engine halted but there were still some remnants of life within the vehicle for a few more moments.

"Would you like to find a spot so we can do our flowers?" Ivan asked.

"Sure. I'll take the cooler with the food and a blanket. It's still early—like eight or so. We'll be able to find a good spot."

They got out of the car and Alfred grabbed the blue cooler box and Ivan got the box with the flowers. The blanket was tied around Alfred's neck like a cape.

Alfred was a literal bouncing puppy as he walked over the grounds and towards a large shaded tree. It was the first time that Alfred was celebrating the flower festival with someone and he was with Ivan of all people and he was extremely excited and now he should probably start breathing again before his face started to turn blue. He took a deep breath in.

Ivan chuckled quietly as he watched all of the emotions play over his boyfriend's face. Internally, he made a promise to try and do things like this more often.

They reached the spot in the tree and Alfred spread out the blanket before they sat down; Ivan in the shade and Alfred in the sun.

"Shall I do your flowers for you?" Ivan asked as he lifted up the box containing the flowers and placed it next to him. The entire park smelled of flowers. It was almost nauseating, but not quite there just yet.

"Sure man. What are you planning to do?"

"You'll see. Close your eyes now love. I don't want you to see what I'm doing just yet."

"Okay," Alfred did as he was directed to and closed his eyes.

It took a while before Ivan managed to get the daisies into a proper chain. He then interspersed them with the other flowers Alfred usually wore during the Flower Festival: forget-me-nots and carnations.

"Are you nearly done yet?" Alfred asked. His face was turned in the direction of the sun.

"Still a while longer. I'm doing both of ours."

"Alright." Alfred acquiesced.

Ivan managed to weave the other flowers he had bought into a flower crown. It looked alright and a large part of Ivan hoped that it would not fall apart throughout the day. As unlike Alfred, Ivan had not had much practice with making daisy chains.

"You done yet?" Alfred asked again.

"Nearly, I just need to—done—but don't open your eyes until I say so." He added hastily. He placed the two flower crowns on himself and Alfred and continued to fiddle around with the flowers, making sure they were sturdy.

"You can open your eyes now. There's not anything I don't want you to see just yet, but I'm still adjusting the flowers on your head."

Alfred opened his eyes, "Why are you wearing my flowers?" He asked curiously.

"Today I'm taking your sorrows and replacing them with my love. The flowers on your head are different." Ivan turned his head slightly to the side and looked down towards the grass. He would have been trying to hide beneath his scarf, but he was not wearing it today. He still continued to work on Alfred's hair.

"That's adorable!" Alfred said loudly and grabbed the attention of a few people around them for a few moments before they returned back to their lives.

"You're not offended at all?" Ivan was a little bit surprised.

"You went through all this trouble for me today and it's alright that I'm not wearing the flowers today. I'm still honouring them; you're just doing it for me. Can I see my flowers now?" Alfred lifted a hand to touch his hair.

"No!" Ivan said sharply and pulled Alfred's hand down, "They may fall off if you touch them."

"Alright, but do I get to see them now?" Excitement coloured Alfred's voice. He sun shone brightly and made his hair to seem as if it was glowing and caused it to contrast greatly with the flowers in his hair. The flowers were like a jewelled crown and they matched the intensity of his eyes.

"Not yet. I do want you to see them later, not now though."

"Oh." Alfred did not ask why. Ivan probably had a reason for not letting him see the flowers. "Can you tell me what colours they are then?"

"I can do that. They're red, white and blue. Like your flowers and your flag."

"And your flag," Alfred added to Ivan's short list. "Can you at least tell me what one of the flowers are?" Alfred tried to pout.

At the puppy-dog eyes Ivan immediately relented, "The one is a daisy, but the other four are definitely not from your arrangement."

They sat in silence for a few moments. People walked past, adorned in various brightly coloured flowers. Most people were wearing wreaths with a few flowers tucked here and there into their clothing and others had long chains that formed a necklace and a few even had chains that lined the brims of their hats.

"It's nice out here," Alfred picked a small clover flower from the ground and started to roll the stem between two fingers, "Thanks again for bringing me here."

Ivan kept his eyes trained on Alfred—he was not a stalker, really—he just loved looking at the ball of sunshine that was Alfred Jones.

"I should be thanking you." He said.

A small wind gusted and caused the leaves around them to rustle gently.

"Sorry I was so whiny today..." Alfred said and let the flower drop down onto his lap.

"Today is your holiday," Ivan began to express one of his thoughts from earlier that day, "You're feeling the combined emotional weight of your country, if not the world." He made a small motion with his hand like he was diffusing Alfred's worries, "This day only comes around once a year. You should enjoy it."

' _Alfred_ ,' a small note began. Alfred had found it tucked into his wallet when he had taken out his ID for airport security. He continued to read the note while standing in the departure lounge.

' _Thank you for such a wonderful day! You can look at the flowers when you read this. I doubt it, but if you don't know the meaning of any of the flowers I recommend_ __ _to look it up on your home computer. I love you and can't wait to tell me your answer when you call. Hopefully we can do this for our anniversary on the 14th._  
 _-Ivan B.'_

Alfred tucked the note back into his wallet and looked for the nearest reflective surface. He decided that going to the bathroom to use one of the mirrors there would be his best bet. Taking them out without looking at the entire wreath did not feel like a good idea in Alfred's opinion.

He weaved quickly between people and managed not to ruin the flowers in his hair that Ivan had been continuously fixing up throughout the entire day. It was now seven o' clock at night and Alfred was leaving Russia so he could go back and spend some time in America with Matthew, his brother.

Alfred looked up into the mirror. The fluorescent light clashed with his skin and made it look sickly, but he could still see the flowers. The flowers looked beautiful.

Daisies and baby's breath were the most abundant. They meant loyal love and everlasting love respectively.

Gloxinia represented the red in the floral bouquet and they represented love at first sight, a sentiment Alfred felt he could almost agree with as it was only due to the wars that they had been pulled apart. He smiled widely.

The white violets were barely noticeable. Let's take a chance on happiness? They asked.

All of the flowers paled in comparison the blue spider flowers that dotted the wreath.

'Yes' Alfred mouthed as he realised that Ivan was declaring his love and asking Alfred to marry him. Elope with me? The spider flowed asked again.

"Yes I will." Alfred said again in barely a whisper.


End file.
